Semiconducting nanowires have been proposed as the basis for fabricating nanometer-scale electronic, optical, and sensing devices. Despite the promising properties of semiconducting nanowires, difficulty controlling their location and integrating them in a device prevents their widespread use. Most research has focused on growing the nanowires on one substrate, removing them, then placing them on another substrate to connect them to electrodes. However, it is difficult to properly position the nanowires on the substrate.
Furthermore, conventional nanowire devices, including nanowire sensors, mostly consist of a single undifferentiated segment. For example, a nanowire sensor may be functionalized, for example, by applying a coating, so the nanowire interacts with a particular species to detect the species. Many of these types of sensors are limited in that they are functionalized to only detect one species or a class of species, and as a result their ability to be used for other functions or as other types of devices is limited.